AMCOR
Half-year profits up 14% to EUR 244m / New flexible packaging unit / Restructuring begins
Australian packaging group Amcor (Abbotsford; www.amcor.com) has announced EBIT of AUD 401m (EUR 244m) for the six months to 31 December 2006, an increase of 14.4% over the same period in the previous year. Sales rose by 5.1% to AUD 5.75 bn in the half-year period.
The company said that its European business had a particularly strong first half with volumes up 7% and earnings around 25% higher with good operational performance across all of its plants. During the period, the business successfully renegotiated a number of supply agreements with major customers that will underpin earnings over the next few years, it said.
As part of the restructuring of its European flexibles business, Amcor is to invest EUR 26m in a plant in Poland, dedicated to supplying flexible packaging to PepsiCo for its fast-growing snack food business in eastern Europe. A new EUR 12m tobacco packaging plant in the Ukraine has also been announced.
On completion of the examination of its European Flexibles activities, Amcor plans to sell or close "some plants of low strategic importance" and to merge production facilities into larger, more effective units. The company said that the restructuring project, which will cost an estimated EUR 60m and includes the sale of its European PET packaging business – see Plasteurope.com Web of 02.03.2007 – will deliver an EBIT benefit of EUR 30m annually, the majority of which will be realised from 2009/2010. In addition to the sale of various production plants, around 900 of the total 7,600 jobs in that segment will be affected.
As a result of plant sale and closure, western Europe´s share of sales will fall from its present 32% to 20% by 2009. At the same time, the proportion of the European growth markets will rise from the current 12% to 20%. The company is forecasting a substantial improvement in earnings in the second half of the year compared with the same period last year, supported by stronger volumes and ongoing improvements across the entire business which should bring a growth in profits for the full year.
The company said that its European business had a particularly strong first half with volumes up 7% and earnings around 25% higher with good operational performance across all of its plants. During the period, the business successfully renegotiated a number of supply agreements with major customers that will underpin earnings over the next few years, it said.
As part of the restructuring of its European flexibles business, Amcor is to invest EUR 26m in a plant in Poland, dedicated to supplying flexible packaging to PepsiCo for its fast-growing snack food business in eastern Europe. A new EUR 12m tobacco packaging plant in the Ukraine has also been announced.
On completion of the examination of its European Flexibles activities, Amcor plans to sell or close "some plants of low strategic importance" and to merge production facilities into larger, more effective units. The company said that the restructuring project, which will cost an estimated EUR 60m and includes the sale of its European PET packaging business – see Plasteurope.com Web of 02.03.2007 – will deliver an EBIT benefit of EUR 30m annually, the majority of which will be realised from 2009/2010. In addition to the sale of various production plants, around 900 of the total 7,600 jobs in that segment will be affected.
As a result of plant sale and closure, western Europe´s share of sales will fall from its present 32% to 20% by 2009. At the same time, the proportion of the European growth markets will rise from the current 12% to 20%. The company is forecasting a substantial improvement in earnings in the second half of the year compared with the same period last year, supported by stronger volumes and ongoing improvements across the entire business which should bring a growth in profits for the full year.
03.05.2007 Plasteurope.com [208022]
Published on 03.05.2007
German version of this article...